The Intersection of Defining and Selling Summer
At the recent Ski NY-SkiPA Expo, SE Group’s Director of Resort Planning, Claire Humber presented “The Intersection of Defining and Selling Summer”, which explored the critical importance of defining the vision for an area’s unique guest experience, and using this as a guide for creation, operation, and selling of summer operations.
Claire noted “we are in the “experience” business, not the ski business, or more broadly put the outdoor recreation business. If we are in the ‘experience’ business, then by default our jobs are to create, deliver and sell experiences.” She observed that often the default is to hand the marketing team a list of already established activities and the associated operating details with the instruction “tell a compelling story around this that’ll bring people here.” Defining the desired experience – in essence creating the compelling story – during the initial planning process, creates valuable clarity related to choosing the right complexion of activities, establishing appropriate operations details, and eventually developing marketing materials. “It’s the classic 'begin with the end in mind'” Humber noted.
Claire outlined the foundational analysis process for discovering the unique differentiators of an area, noting it revolved around four fundamental questions:
What makes our area unique?
Who’s our audience and what are they looking for?
What’s in our market already?
What’s missing – and fits with our brand?
“The answers to these questions may be woven together to paint a picture, create a vision, tell a story about the unique experience your guests will have when they visit your area. And it's that experience that connects them to your area and makes them want to come back”.
If you want to learn more about selling summer or summer success at resorts, Claire spoke on the SAM podcast and published an article in the November 2023 SAM issue titled "Defining Summer Success". Click here to listen to the podcast or read the article.
